The world in 2023… in 10 good news

Are you ending 2023 depressed by the state of the world? You are not alone. But amidst the crises, progress has also occurred. Here are 10 that bring hope, to start the new year off on the right foot.

The ozone layer on the right track

In January, the report of a group of experts commissioned by the United Nations reported “fantastic news” for the ozone layer: the hole should be closed by 2066 at the latest. All this, “if current policies remain in place”, according to the scientists. The hole above the Arctic could even close by 2045.

The role of the ozone layer is to absorb part of the ultraviolet rays. Without this layer, life on Earth would be impossible. Its deterioration was detected as early as 1974. The Montreal Protocol, adopted in 1987, is an example of successful public policy applied on an international scale.

A thaw in relations between China and the United States

The summer of 2023 marked a first rapprochement between the two great powers in almost five years. In June, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited China for two days. It was the first official U.S. visit to China since 2018.

The two countries agreed on the need to stabilize their relationship, progress was made and common ground found. It is in these terms that the meeting was summarized by both sides.

Then, in November, the two countries launched a joint climate working group. A meeting to this effect took place between American President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in San Francisco as part of a summit on Economic Cooperation for the Asia-Pacific. Their joint statement was considered “a significant moment” before the start of COP28.

Tires… without air

Developed for several years, technologies for airless tires have progressed in 2023. Michelin, like its competitors Goodyear or Bridgestone, considers that the tire sector could be revolutionized in the medium term by these tires, which are puncture-proof even on the worst surfaces, and maintenance free.

Millions of tires could be diverted from landfill. This technology promises a single tire structure for the entire life of a car (or bike). In January, Michelin airless tires began to be tested in real conditions in Singapore. Then, in June, in France.

In October, bicycles and scooters were the subject of new advances, thanks to technology developed by NASA and taken up by the American company Smart Tire Company. These tires will be available for purchase from June 2024, depending on The Digitals.

Putting the pandemic behind us

It sometimes feels like it’s been an eternity, but it was only last May that the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the end of the pandemic emergency.

“It is with great hope that I declare the end of the global health emergency,” announced WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a press conference in Geneva on May 5.

Mr. Ghebreyesus thus closed the chapter that he himself had opened by declaring, on January 30, 2020, the highest level of health alert in international law.

Ohio protects abortion rights

On November 7, voters in this Republican-controlled American state voted 55% to include the right to abortion in their Constitution.

Abortions were banned in Ohio, even in cases of rape or incest as soon as a fetal heartbeat was detected. And this since the overturning of the Roe c. Wade in 2022 by the United States Supreme Court.

Both camps campaigned for and against abortion to the tune of millions in the weeks leading up to the referendum.

In Kentucky, a neighboring conservative state, Democratic Governor Andy Beshear also managed to get re-elected after making the right to abortion his hobby horse. During the midterm elections in the fall of 2022, five American states, both conservative and progressive, voted to protect the right to abortion.

Historic victory for the indigenous people of Brazil

September 21 marks a historic date for Brazil’s indigenous people, who won a standoff against the agribusiness lobby in the country’s Supreme Court. The dispute concerned the rights to use the ancestral lands of these peoples.

The issue was all the more crucial as the reserves allocated to indigenous people are considered by scientists as bulwarks against deforestation and therefore play a key role in the fight against global warming.

Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest also fell by a third during the first five months of the Lula government’s presidency, from January to May 2023.

Rhino numbers are increasing in Africa

For the first time since 2012, the number of rhinos recorded in Africa has increased. In September, authorities estimated that there were 23,290 rhinos on the continent at the end of 2022, 5.2% more than in 2021, according to a statement from the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

For 10 years, poaching has threatened the survival of the species on the African continent. Although poaching still exists, a series of protection and biological management measures have helped reverse the trend, the press release highlights.

A first international summit on AI

For the first time, 28 countries – including China and the United States – and the European Union met on 1^er last November to discuss the meteoric rise of artificial intelligence (AI).

For two days, political leaders, AI experts and giants of technological innovation gathered at Bletchley Park, north London. They agreed on “the urgent need to collectively understand and manage the potential risks” of AI through “a new global effort, aimed at ensuring that AI is developed and deployed in a safe and responsible manner”.

Two other international summits will follow, in South Korea then in France. Recall that in May 2023, AI luminaries warned that this technology could become an existential threat to humanity, as serious as pandemics and nuclear war.

Historic milestone for malaria vaccination in Africa

On November 22, the World Health Organization (WHO) claimed that more than 330,000 vaccine doses had arrived in Cameroon. It represents “a historic step towards vaccination on a larger scale against one of the deadliest diseases among African children,” said the international agency in a press release.

The vaccination campaign should begin in 2024 in the areas most at risk.

In 2021, 247 million cases of malaria were recorded worldwide, writes the WHO. “Of this number, 619,000 patients died; 77% of these deaths involved children under 5 years old, most of them in Africa. »

Six carbon-free days in Portugal

From October 31 to November 6, electricity consumption in Portugal was exclusively from renewable energies. The country made the announcement on December 4, on the sidelines of the COP28 on climate in Dubai.

During this period, renewable energy production reached 1,102 gigawatt hours (GWh), exceeding the needs of the country’s approximately 10 million residents, the International mail. Solar and wind energy represent the majority of Portugal’s energy sources. The country closed its last coal-fired power plant in 2021.

With Éric-Pierre Champagne and Daphné Cameron, The Pressas well as La Presse Canadienne and Agence France-Presse